Marc’s sexuality didn’t resonate with me at all. I liked his
look esp the Spanish goth bit and the bangles but it was the 90s before it
clicked that he was gay which seems shortsighted now but I really was quite literal with my interpretations of
his lyrics/female backing vocalists. It made sense that he was gay but from my
point of view neither here nor there.

I remember listening to it on a Walkman in 1984 wandering near
square concrete buildings and again in a park in London in 1988 feeling
nostalgic for 1984/1981 huhhh - at 17??.

After this album they were determined to have a dense sound, imprint more of themselves onto it - to dirty it up maybe to get away from the stark crisp brilliance of their debut

what they said in 1981:

“Soft Cell offer up a glibly conceived ride through a
funhouse of fetish and kink” - New York Rocker

“some of the most dispassionate songs since Transformer,
some of the cruelest criticisms since vintage Zappa, and some of the most
pathetic posturing since Queen. Pop at its most potent. Pop at its most
pointless” Melody Maker

“Soft Cell have provided the reason for shouting eureka!,
whether in the bath or not” – Sounds